Cost of living: Petrol prices rise again - but still cheaper than 2015

Ross Robertson

The cost of fuel rose this week, with unleaded petrol now at 111.4 pence per litre - 0.2 pence higher than it was seven days ago.

Figures from the Office of National Statistics also showed that the cost of diesel has risen week on week by 0.4 pence per litre, the cost at the pump now 112.6 pence per litre.

Despite the week-on-week rise, filling up your car is still more affordable than it was this time last year, with unleaded petrol 5.1 pence per litre cheaper and diesel 8.4 pence per litre cheaper than it was this week in 2015.

However, while the most recent increase is fairly small motorists are being warned to expect far steeper rises in the wake of the vote to leave the EU.

Both the Petrol Retailers Association and the AA have said they expect the cost of fuel to jump by 2p to 3p per litre as early as the end of this week.

The sudden rise is down to the equally sudden drop in the value of the pound. When the leave vote was announced the pound’s value dropped sharply against the dollar and as the wholesale oil markets operate in dollars this is likely to lead to an increase in price at the pumps.